A systematic approach to ac motor repair

ANSI/EASA AR100 provides best practices for mechanical repair, electrical repair including rewinding, and testing that help apparatus rebuilders maintain or enhance the performance, reliability, and energy efficiency of ac and dc motors and generators.

Tom Bishop, PE, Electrical Apparatus Service Association

03/04/2015

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The only national standard for repair of motors and generators is ANSI/EASA AR100-2010: Recommended Practice for the Repair of Rotating Electrical Apparatus (AR100). It provides best practices for mechanical repair, electrical repair including rewinding, and testing that help apparatus rebuilders maintain or enhance the performance, reliability, and energy efficiency of ac and dc motors and generators.

The focus here is on the electrical aspects of ac machine repair that this standard prescribes, and that form the basis of EASA’s new service center accreditation program.

Many of the good practices in AR100 that help maintain motor reliability and efficiency were identified through a comprehensive rewind study that was published in 2003 by EASA and the Association of Electrical and Mechanical Trades (AEMT), a United Kingdom-based service center association.

One value of AR100 for end users is that it describes “good repair practices” in just 22 pages. Another is that by requiring service centers to comply with these practices, end users can be sure repairs will conform to the requirements of a recognized American national standard. Further, the good practice recommendations in AR100 cited in this article are mandatory requirements in the EASA accreditation program. End users who choose EASA-accredited service centers also have the assurance of a third-party audit that these requirements will be met.

Rewinding

AR100 concisely states the requirements for a good practice rewind in only two pages, beginning with inspection of the windings (Figure 1) and squirrel-cage rotor bars and end rings. Since the rotor is an electrical component—the rotating secondary of a transformer, with the stator being the primary—defective rotor bars or end rings (Figure 2) could reduce output torque or cause vibration.

Winding data. Exact duplication of the original winding characteristics is crucial to maintaining motor performance, reliability, and energy efficiency. AR100 therefore recommends recording and checking the accuracy of the “as-found” winding data before destroying the old winding. It also advocates keeping the cross-sectional area of the conductors the same (or larger, if possible) in the new winding, and not increasing the average length of the coil extensions. These good practices will maintain or reduce winding resistance and losses, thereby maintaining or increasing winding life and energy efficiency.

Stator core testing. Stator cores consist of a stack of thin steel laminations that are insulated on all surfaces and have a circular opening for the bore. Evenly spaced notches around the circumference of the bore form slots to hold the winding.

The good practices for core inspection and testing in AR100 focus on detecting core degradation (e.g., shorts between laminations cause circulating currents that increase stator heating and losses). Among them are loop or core testing before and after winding removal, investigation of any increase in core losses, and repair or replacement of damaged laminations. This helps identify a faulty core before repair—or worse, after the repaired machine is put in service.

Winding removal. AR100 gives special directions on how to remove or strip the old windings from the stator core without damaging the laminations. For instance, it recommends first thermally degrading the winding insulation in a temperature-controlled oven, while closely monitoring the temperature of the part (typically the stator). The accreditation program goes beyond this recommendation and provides a specific temperature limit of 700 F (370 C). This helps prevent damage to the stator core when the windings are removed.

Insulation system. AR100 recommends that the new winding’s insulation system be equal to or better than the original, and use only compatible components. Service centers typically achieve the “better than” option by using class H systems (180 C) for random windings (see Figure 3) and class F systems (155 C) for form coil windings. Most original manufacturers use either class F (155 C) or class B (130 C) random windings and class B (130 C) form coil windings.

Rewind procedure and slot fill. Regarding the rewind process, AR100 states that the new winding should have the same electrical characteristics as the original. This is best accomplished by copy rewinding. This requires using the same size conductors (wire cross-sectional area), the same number of turns per coil, and the same coil dimensions as the original.

One good practice in AR100 that can improve efficiency is to increase the wire cross-sectional area. This increases conductivity and reduces losses. Another is to reduce the average length of coil turns, which reduces winding resistance and losses.

Guidance on how to repair rotor squirrel cage and amortisseur windings reinforces the need to maintain the machine’s original performance characteristics. This requires three things:

Rotor bars fit tightly in the core slots.

Bar-to-end ring connections are welded or brazed.

The rotor cage retains its original electrical characteristics and can withstand normal thermal and mechanical forces.

Winding impregnation. When applied properly, the varnish/resin treatment binds winding components tightly together while ensuring good heat transfer from the winding to the stator core and cooling air. AR100 therefore stresses the importance of winding impregnation practices that include preheating the stator winding; selecting a varnish/resin with an adequate thermal rating; and using a treatment that’s both compatible with the insulation system and suitable for the application environment.

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